Picture hanger



Nov. 15, 1955 c. L. BROWNING v 2,723,815

PIQTURE HANGER Filed March 20, 1951 I EN TOR.

United States Patent PICTURE HANGER Clarence L. Browning, Arcadia, Calif. Application March 20, 1951, Serial No. 216,590

1 Claim. (Cl. 248-29) The present invention relates generally to hangers arranged to be secured to a wall surface, and is more specifically concerned with improvements in picture hangers of the type which are anchored in position by means of a nail driven into the plaster or other wall surface.

A common fault and disadvantage inherent in hangers of the conventional type, especially when used on plaster surfaces, resides in the tendency of the anchoring nail, during driving, to cause cracking and crumbling of the plaster immediately around the nail. As a result, the nail after driving is often so loose that the hanger is unreliable and can not be depended upon to properly support the weight which is put upon it.

With the foregoing in mind, the present invention contemplates as one object, the provision of a picture hanger wherein the wall plaster around the anchor nail will be supported and held against cracking and crumbling.

A further object is to provide a picture hanger of the anchor nail type which may be initially positioned on the plaster wall and held in position by an adhesive.

A still further object is to provide a picture hanger of the anchor nail type, which is so arranged as to present an enlarged pressure distributing wall contacting surface uniformly around the anchor nail.

Further objects of the invention will be brought out in the following part of the specification, wherein detailed description is for the purpose of fully disclosing the invention without placing limitations thereon.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, which are for illustrative purposes only:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view of a picture hanger embodying the features of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the same, and showing a cooperatively associated anchor member;

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view, taken substantially on line 3-3 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view showing a modified construction of the invention.

Referring generally to the drawings, the picture hanger of the present invention comprises a generally disc-shaped body portion of metal or other suitable material.

At diametrically opposite sides of the body portion, the body is formed with integral projecting straps 11 and 12. As shown in Fig. 2, the strap 11 is bent back upon itself and extends over the body portion to provide an upwardly opening hook 13 adapted to receive a picture supporting cable or wire or other connection with an object to be supported on the hanger.

The strap 12, as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, is likewise bent back and carried over the forward surface of the body portion 10, the strap being twisted and deformed at its end terminus to define a cylindrical end portion 14 containing an elongate bore 15 therein adapted to lengthwise receive an anchoring member such as a nail 16, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2.

At the point where the axis of the bore 15 intercepts the body portion 10, the body portion is provided with an aligned opening 17 through which the nail 16 may pass 2,723,815 Patented Nov. 15, 1955 to the rear of the body portion 10, and be driven into the supporting wall structure in conventional manner.

The rear face of the body portion 10 is covered with an adhesive layer 18 which is coextensive with the rear surface of the body portion, and normally extends over the opening 17 in the body portion. Any suitable adhesive may be utilized, however, it is desirable to use a pressure sensitive adhesive which does not require the application of moisture in order to render it tacky.

The adhesive is normally protected by a covering in the form of a strip sheet 19 having a projecting peripheral tab 20 to facilitate its removal from the adhesive, when it is desired to utilize the hanger of the present invention.

More specifically, when it is desired to utilize a hanger such as described herein, the strip sheet 19 is first removed to expose the outer surface of the adhesive layer 18. The hanger may be pressed against the wall surface at the position where it is desired to mount the hanger. The adhesive will thus hold the hanger in the desired location, and should it be desired to change the location this may be readily done by simply pulling the hanger away from the wall and repositioning it at the desired location. The anchor nail 16 is then inserted in the bore 15 and driven through the adhesive layer into the wall surface.

The adhesive layer 18, due to its surrounding the opening 17 will act to retain the wall material, especially in the case of plaster, against cracking and crumbling as the nail 16 is being driven. Moreover, since the large body portion 10 uniformly surrounds the anchor nail, any pressures applied against the wall surface will be uniformly distributed over a large area so as to minimize cracking of the plaster.

Referring to Fig. 4, an alternative construction is illustrated, wherein the strap 12 instead of being twisted as in the arrangement of Fig. l is bent back to form a spaced outer leg portion 21 which is interconnected by a bridging portion 22 with an oppositely extending inner leg 23 in engagement with the adjacent face of the body portion 10. The inner and outer legs 21 and 23, respectively, are provided adjacent the bridging portion 22 with aligned openings 24 and 25 for receiving the anchor nail therethrough. It will be appreciated that with this construction, the

bridging portion 42 forms a rigid member for transferring forces applied against the outermost leg 21 directly to the inner leg 23, and that such forces are applied against the body portion 10 so that these forces will be distributed over its relatively large surface of contact with the wall structure.

Various modifications may suggest themselves to those skilledin the art without departing from the spirit of my invention, and, hence, I do not wish to be restricted to the specific forms shown or uses mentioned, except to the extent indicated in the appended claim.

I claim as my invention:

In a device for suspending pictures and the like, from a plaster wall, said device being initially temporarily anchorable to determine its desired location and thereafter finally anchored in the desired location, comprising: a member of substantially rigid material having at least one opening therein and an associated hook radially spaced from said opening, said member being formed with an enlarged section defining a substantial disc portion surrounding said opening and presenting a rear flat surface; an adhesive coating carried on said rear surface for ini- 'tially and removably supporting the member in selected mounting positions on the wall while determining a desired final anchoring position; and means carried by said member extending on the forward side of said enlarged section for supporting a final anchoring member in an inclined position in alignment with said opening, said anchoring member being adapted to be driven through said opening into the plaster wall to finally anchor the device 3 in the selected desired final anchoring position, said adhesive holding the plaster adjacent said opening against cracking and crumbling during the driving of the anchor member, and said anchor member in anchoring position serving to retain said adhesive under pressure.

Kerr Sept. 30, 1902 Johnson June 14, 1910 4 Moore Dec. 31, 1912 Erickson Nov. 3, 1925 Mull May 18, 1937 Tate Jan. 11, 1938 Gardner Nov. 1, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain Nov. 7, 1951 France Jan. 20, 1950 

